Rejection of Alabek as a Name to Substitute Lou Ariik County; We rather Create Lou county –Alabek Hqrs
Republic of South Sudan, Juba, 30 Jan 2017
To: The Office of the Governor, Tonj State
Hon. Akec Tong Aleu
Subject: Rejection of Alabek as a Name to Substitute Lou Ariik County; We rather Create Lou county –Alabek Hqrs
February 1, 2017 (SSB) — We the concerned members of Lou Ariik Community are grateful to President Kiir and Tonj Governor, Hon. Akec Tong Aleu for recognizing the vast territory and the population of Lou Ariik locality to give it a county status in Tonj State.
Mindful that through negative mobilization against the ancestral history of the area some of our community members were made to dislike the name of the new county of Lou Ariik. These community members claim that ‘Ariik’ is an ancestral grandfather to only a particular clan in the county forgetting that he was as well a founder of the area to whom the region has been recognized for, now for centuries.
The mobilization to protest the name of Lou Ariik County only became real when some politicians and intellectuals secretly rushed to the county from Juba and conducted their small and non-consultative meeting in Lou which they claim to be a CONFERENCE. The said conference conducted in Alabek village from Jan 12 – 14 this year run short to reach the status of a conference because of the following points:
- It was not participatory, nor was it fair and transparent: only members of similar objectives talked against one clan in the meeting and they unilaterally declare the change of name without considering the position of others.
- The meeting was dictated and the protocol was distorted making a total disorder in the meeting and some traditional elders refuse to give out their views over the topic.
- The conference was conducted under some security threat in county
- The Community Leadership which planned for the conference intentionally failed to invite some very important persons in Juba to attend the conference making the leadership to be so discriminative.
The above mentioned points lowered the value of the conference. Therefore we here declare that its outcomes cannot be owned and enjoyed by all citizens of Lou Ariik Community and as a result we the undersigned members of this document reject the resolution that CONDONE Alabek as the name of our County.
Knowing that Lou Ariik County flag was ordered to be burned to ashes in the county by the same individuals who conducted the secret conference we call for peace of hearts to restore among our community members and find a lawful means to resolve their differences.
What is the Way Forward?
We strongly reject the intention made by our people to destroy our identity and to only promote the name of one village to represent us in the country. We here by ask our listening government of Tonj State and Republic of South Sudan to create for us LOU COUNTY not Alabek County.
It is Lou County that has the vast territory and geographical recognition bordering Nuer of Northern Liec State in the north, Gogrial State to the northwest, Konggor to the west, Awan-Parek to the south and Apuk Padoc to the East. Alabek is a mere village like other villages at the central of Lou County and it will serve as the Headquarters and the seat of the Administration.
We therefore urge Tonj State Government, The President of South Sudan, The Council of States and National Legislative Assembly to stand with our idea. It must be well understood that all members, subsections and clans in Lou Ariik are only united under word Lou and we are indeed Lou people not Alabek People. Our identity matters more than the disputes and differences among our politicians.
It should be noticed that we shall never ever accept the destruction of our identity and promotion of one village to carry the name of our county.
LOU COUNTY OYEE!
TONJ STATE OYEE!
SOUTH SUDAN OYEE!
Cc: President of the Republic of South Sudan, H.E. Gen. Salva Kiir
Cc: Hon Governor, Akec Tong Aleu, Tonj State
Cc: Council of States
Cc: Transitional National Legislative Assembly
Cc: Tonj State Legislative Assembly
Cc: Commissioner, Lou Ariik County
Cc: Lou Mawien Ariik Community Organization (LMACO) Chairman, Molana Abur Chol
Cc: Lou Mawien Youth Development Association (LMYDA) Chairman, Dr Mawien Deng
Cc: File
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